Saudi-led coalition kills 40 Houthi militants in Yemen: Report

Riyadh, July 29 (IANS) Forces of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition on Friday killed at least 40 Houthi militants in a Yemeni region near the Saudi border, the Al Arabiya TV reported.

The Saudi-led forces, supported by Apache attack helicopters and artillery, killed the Houthi militants in an area near the Saudi border city Jazan, after managing to lure them into a place within their target range, Xinhua cited the report as saying.

The coalition forces set up the ambush after getting intelligence that the Houthi militants and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh were mobilising in the region near the Saudi border, it said.

The four-hour operations were carried out opposite the Al-Khashl, Al-Fadna and Al-Malhama mountains.

Saudi forces also fired rockets at strongholds held by Houthi militants near the border of Saada province in Yemen, it added.

Yemen has been suffering from a civil war, which began in 2015 after the Houthi militants, with support from forces loyal to Saleh, ousted the UN-backed transitional government and occupied capital Sanaa.

The legitimate government controls the south and some eastern parts, while the Houthi/Saleh alliance controls other parts.

The Saudi-led coalition, which includes nine African and Middle East countries, launched a military intervention in Yemen since March 2015 to support the government led by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.